


Deserved

by CallMeBombshell



Category: Battlestar Galactica
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-08
Updated: 2009-11-08
Packaged: 2017-10-15 17:48:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/163307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallMeBombshell/pseuds/CallMeBombshell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sharon looks back at Kara with a wink. "So," she says, lips curling into a smirk. "You gonna tell me why you've got a picture of the new CAG up in your locker?".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deserved

**Author's Note:**

> This came out of a need to write someone ribbing Kara about the picture in her locker. I decided post-YCGHA was the best way to go, since then I could use the excuse that, until her knee healed, Kara had someone helping her get dressed and such. That person became Sharon, and then Lee popped in for a bit, and just for kicks, I threw in a reference to one of my favourite fanfic cliches, and all of a sudden I had a 1500+ word fic.

Kara's been out of sickbay and back in her bunk for a week when Sharon plops herself down at Kara's feet, disturbing her from the cheap paperback horror she's been reading in her downtime.

The sly smile on her friend's face is the first warning. Sharon's been helping Kara dress for a week ( _godsdamned frakking knee brace making everything so frakking difficult can't do a godsdamn thing have to ask for frakking help someone's gonna pay for this_ ) and she's had ample opportunity to rifle through the mess of Kara's locker. Gods only know what kind of dirt she's managed to dig up. Kara knows Sharon's found her secret stash of vanilla-scented soap, because she smells it on her fingers when Sharon pokes her in the face to wake her up.

Kara's pretty sure she's found the dress, blue and frothy and shoved at the back of her locker on the top shelf, out of sight. She was supposed to wear it for the reception to celebrate Galactica's retirement, but then the worlds ended and she was more interested in running for their lives. It seems stupid to hold onto it now; she doubts there are going to be any fancy parties anytime soon. But she's holding onto that dress, still. She hopes Sharon won't mention it to anyone.

Kara wonders for a moment if she's managed to find the two small, lonely chocolate bars hidden at the bottom of the locker where a section of the metal plate pulls up, leaving a small gap between the bottom of the locker and the floor. Somehow she doubts it, and Kara doesn't feel like telling her. These days, those two bars could get her through a lifetime's worth of triad games.

But for right now, Sharon's looking down at her with that damned grin on her face and Kara wonders exactly how much trouble her friend is going to give her.

The second warning is in the way Sharon glances across the room, pointedly looking at the bunk directly opposite. The curtains are pulled back, covers pulled up, just enough this side of hasty to avoid being too neat.

Sharon looks back at Kara with a wink. "So," she says, lips curling into a smirk. "You gonna tell me why you've got a picture of the new CAG up in your locker?"

Kara fights the urge to put her face in her hands. Of all the questions Sharon could have asked her, she had to pick the one that Kara wanted to answer the least. And because this is Sharon, and she's neither stupid nor appropriately afraid of the Great and Terrible Wrath of Starbuck, Kara knows it's pointless to even try to bullshit her way out of this one.

She tries anyway.

"Oh that?" she says, trying for unconcerned and feeling like she's mostly failing. "That's old, it's from ages ago. I'd forgotten he was in it."

The interested flash in Sharon's eyes tell her that that is exactly the wrong thing to say.

"It's old, you say?" Sharon's tone has turned decidedly evil, Kara thinks. "So the two of you were friends, huh? Close friends?"

Kara rolls her eyes. "Yeah, we were friends, ages ago."

"What happened?" Sharon asks, almost managing to sound innocently curious except for the way her eyes are dancing wickedly.

Kara thinks of fire and screeching metal and her heart clawing its way out of her chest. She thinks of sunlight glinting off of glasses and a rough, low voice and a hand gripping hers. She thinks of hard blue eyes, empty and cold, a back turned to her and two years of silence.

"Nothing happened. Just life, that's all."

Sharon fixes her with a look of such supreme disbelief that Kara sighs heavily and decides to give up the cagey answers, because clearly Sharon's not buying the there's-nothing-to-tell line.

"I was engaged to his brother, okay? The three of us spent a lot of time together. Lee was at War College, came into town every couple of months and we'd all hang out." Kara stares at the top of her bunk for a moment. She licks her suddenly-dry lips and continues.

"Then Zak died. And I came here to Galactica and didn't hear from Lee for two years. And that's it."

Kara can feel Sharon's eyes on her, willing her to look at her, but Kara can't. She doesn't want to be asked questions about Lee and Zak and those two years when she felt like she'd lost everything all at once, when the guilt threatened to overwhelm her and she couldn't understand why the loss of her fiancé had somehow given her a father and a home. Surprisingly, Sharon's keeping her silence, and Kara is glad for it; it gives her enough time to school her mouth into something more like her usual cocky grin before she turns back to the other woman.

"So," Sharon says, not quite meeting Kara's eyes, and Kara's heart sinks a little.

"Does Captain Adama know you've got his mug taped to your mirror, or have you been hiding that little fact from him?" Sharon raises her head, quick grin on her face. "I imagine that's not something you really want to have slipping into casual conversation. I mean, what if some poor rook were to stumble across that and not be able to keep her mouth shut?"

Kara stifles a laugh, thankful for Sharon Valerii and her lighthearted sense of humour and good instincts on keeping her mouth shut when she needs to. She doesn't bother responding, just twists until she can grab the pillow at her back and swings it at the other woman's face. Sharon laughs and tumbles backward, trying to snatch the pillow out of Kara's hand. She succeeds and throws it back in Kara's face just as the hatch opens and the topic of their conversation enters the room.

Lee stops short just inside the door, one eyebrow arching as he surveys the scene in front of him.

"Do I even want to know?" he asks, and Kara and Sharon exchange glances before cracking up again. Lee rolls his eyes and makes his way towards his locker. "Apparently not..."

"Sorry, Captain Adama, sir," Kara chokes out, trying to control her laughter. "Just a little dispute between officers, you know how it goes." Sharon snorts out a laugh, trying to smooth out her wide grin as she tries to get to her feet again. Kara looks up at her, trying to silently tell her not to say a word. Sharon looks over her shoulder at Lee, who's tugging off his uniform jacket with his back to them. She looks back at Kara with a grin and places a finger against her lips, assuring her of her silence. But her eyes are shining and Kara hears for now in the way Sharon waves at her as she makes her way out of the bunkroom, waggling her fingers at her.

She turns back as she reaches the door and fixes Kara with a decidedly evil grin. "By the way, Starbuck," she says. "I'm counting that as my opening bid in the Chief's pool."

Kara raises one eyebrow. "What pool?" she asks, warily.

Sharon just grins even wider, eyes flicking back and forth between Kara and Lee, who's turned around and is watching them with a confused expression. It takes Kara all of two seconds to connect Sharon's words with the funny looks the Chief's been giving her, and then she feels the blood drain from her face.

"What?" She wishes she could sound more appalled and less incredulously amused. "You've got a pool on--and you're going to--oh frak you, Boomer!" And then she's trying to get up and nearly falling over and Lee's at her shoulder, steadying her and Sharon's laughter is echoing down the corridor behind her.

Kara grits her teeth and lets Lee keep his hold on her arms, settling her back onto her bunk. "You know," she says to no one in particular. "There are times when I wonder why I'm friends with that girl."

Lee manages to look almost sympathetic. "Aww, Kara, have you finally met someone just as difficult as you?"

Kara glares at him, or tries to glare, really, except it's rather hard, and then she's laughing and Lee's grinning and Kara wonders what Sharon would make of this moment. She wonders if the pool is really real; it probably is. She wonders if she should ask what it's up to.

Kara turns her head to watch as Lee rifles through the contents of his locker, studies the cut of his arms and the planes of his back and the way his hair is starting to get just the tiniest bit untidy. She thinks of a picture folded and unfolded, thinks of miracles and a dead man's smile (but not the first one, oh no, never the first one) and a warm hand reaching down to her. She thinks of arguments dissolving into laughter and delirium. She thinks of fire and screeching metal and this time it means that they're alive.

Kara wonders if maybe she's found a good use for her chocolate bars. She grins at the thought, and makes a mental note: _find Sharon._  



End file.
